{"id":10323,"date":"2022-04-28T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2022-04-27T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/?post_type=purple_issue&p=10323"},"modified":"2022-05-12T10:10:45","modified_gmt":"2022-05-12T08:10:45","slug":"fabric-of-life-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/2022\/04\/28\/fabric-of-life-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Fabric of life"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
FABRIC OF LIFE<\/span><\/strong><\/h6>\n\n


And the bride wore white<\/em><\/h4>\n\n

Queen Victoria\u2019s wedding dress set a new trend for white gowns and was to have a lasting influence in the face of changing fashions, finds Celia Rufey <\/strong><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n

Celia Rufey<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n\n

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\u2018Oh! This was the happiest day of my life!\u2019 wrote Queen Victoria in her journal, describing her wedding on 10th February 1840. Beyond her joy at marrying Prince Albert, the colour of Victoria\u2019s wedding dress was a historic moment for bridal wear. \u2018I wore a white satin gown, with a very deep ounce of Honiton lace,\u2019 she wrote. Both the white silk-satin woven in Spitalfields and the handworked Honiton lace, pointed to the Queen\u2019s interest in supporting homegrown skills and manufacture. The public greeted her white dress with surprise, then enthusiasm, though some criticised its style as too simple for a queen. The greater surprise is how that white dress set in motion an enduring trend.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Historians quote only two notable white weddings in earlier centuries. The first describes Princess Philippa, daughter of King Henry IV, wearing a white tunic and cloak edged with ermine and squirrel fur when she married Eric of Pomerania in 1406. White was Mary Queen of Scots\u2019 favourite colour, but a white gown for her first marriage to French dauphin Francis in 1558 must have raised an eyebrow, as white was associated with mourning in France; prescient, perhaps, as Francis died in 1560.<\/p>\n\n

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Mary Tucker wore this elegant white silk dress for her marriage to Henry Ford in 1864. Mary\u2019s father was one of the major lace dealers in east Devon during the mid 19th century.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

In earlier centuries, when important marriages could strengthen unions between countries and noble families, the bride\u2019s gown was designed to indicate status by extravagant use of expensive fabrics and accessories, particularly jewellery. These were far more important than its colour. In most families, the bride wore her best dress for her wedding and a bride from a poor family, her Sunday dress. Even women who could afford a special dress for the great day did not expect to wear it only once. The tradition for repeated wear and repurposing of garments brought the wedding dress back for different occasions, or it could be dyed or altered to reflect changes in fashion. Queen Victoria did the same, attaching lace from her wedding gown to other gowns on at least 16 occasions, including for her diamond jubilee.<\/span><\/p>\n\n

Victoria\u2019s white wedding dress was later imagined to reflect her youthful innocence and purity, but the reality was more practical. White garments in silks and satins were high maintenance, and only for the rich. And blue was the true colour expressing purity and piety, with the Virgin Mary as the model.<\/p>\n\n

The style of Victoria\u2019s gown \u2013 slender waist and full skirt \u2013 was mirrored in styles that followed. From the 1850s, the size of the skirts began to increase with added hoops, layers of petticoats and a new style of foundation garment to help support the shape. Sleeves were also full, with under-sleeves in fine lace or embroidery. \u2018Skirts by the 1860s were immense, with an undulating movement, and these wedding gowns usually had a separate bodice and skirt,\u2019 says Shelley Tobin, costume curator for the National Trust. \u2018Through the 1870s a more ed line emerged, with wedding gowns emphasising the hips, and a bustle at the back making reference to 18th-century French fashion. Glossy white satin also became fashionable.\u2019<\/span><\/p>\n\n

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Queen Victoria by Winterhalter, 1847, in which she wears her wedding veil. For her wedding to Prince Albert, the young Queen chose a simple dress in white satin, with Honiton lace at the neckline and a flounce of lace in the skirt. The colour of her dress was much remarked upon.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

During the 1880s, the construction of the foundation garment gave these closely fitted wedding dresses an even more upholstered appearance, with details like pleated cuffs and pleating at the hem bringing together a curious mix of styles. Mrs Haweis, a commentator at the time, reported rather curtly that simplicity was out of fashion. But after 1900 came a so er silhouette, with less restrictive foundation garments, though the outline was still statuesque. \u2018The early 1920s saw the \u201cgar\u00e7onne\u201d look \u2013 no bust, no hips,\u2019 says Shelley, \u2018and by 1925 shorter skirts, usually on or just below the knee, came in even for weddings. <\/span>By 1925 a full-length wedding dress was considered behind the times. Through the 1930s, full length returned with the bias-cut wedding dress, typically in optical white satin. This gown fitted where it touched the body, provoking the comment that, \u201cIf you eat a grape, it will show\u201d.\u2019<\/p>\n\n

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a white satin wedding dress with a modified Celtic Art Nouveau motif, made by Liberty & Co. Ltd in 1906.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n

After nearly 200 years, a white wedding remains top of the ratings and, whatever reason was behind Victoria\u2019s choice, it has influenced bridal traditions more than she could have imagined.

The Royal Collection; The Royal Albert Memorial Museum, Exeter; Royal Collection Trust \/ \u00a9 Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2022; V&A Images<\/p>\n\n

The Royal Collection, rct.uk<\/a>; Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery, rammcollections.org.uk<\/a>; <\/em>Victoria & Albert Museum, vam.ac.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Queen Victoria\u2019s wedding dress set a new trend for white gowns <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":10319,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ub_ctt_via":"","purple_page_number":"82","purple_custom_meta_purple_page_number":"82","purple_seq_number":"1","purple_custom_meta_purple_seq_number":"1","purple_source_article":"article_82-1.xml","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_article":"article_82-1.xml","purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_custom_meta_purple_source_issue":"June-2022","purple_external_id":"June-2022-82-1","purple_custom_meta_purple_external_id":"June-2022-82-1","purple_issue_code":"|0000090928||","purple_custom_meta_purple_issue_code":"|0000090928||","purple_android_product":"com.im.handa.359","purple_custom_meta_purple_android_product":"com.im.handa.359","purple_ios_product":"com.im.handa.359","purple_custom_meta_purple_ios_product":"com.im.handa.359","purple_web_product":"","purple_custom_meta_purple_web_product":"","purple_publication_id":"5cc04d50-a13b-4710-8743-648e4aace342","purple_migrated":"","kt_blocks_editor_width":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"2022-05-12T08:10:55Z","apple_news_article-theme":"","apple_news_api_id":"b815034f-1547-4fc8-92aa-2e88a8a1b429","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2022-05-12T08:10:55Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AuBUDTxVHT8iSqi6IqKG0KQ","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":true,"apple_news_is_preview":true,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_article_theme":"","apple_news_sections":"[]"},"categories":[23],"tags":[42,36],"apple_news_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/249efc76-9961-4a5e-8174-12a9a4281d50.jpg","author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"5","apple_news_title":""},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/249efc76-9961-4a5e-8174-12a9a4281d50.jpg",267,308,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/249efc76-9961-4a5e-8174-12a9a4281d50-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/249efc76-9961-4a5e-8174-12a9a4281d50-260x300.jpg",260,300,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/249efc76-9961-4a5e-8174-12a9a4281d50.jpg",267,308,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/249efc76-9961-4a5e-8174-12a9a4281d50.jpg",267,308,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/249efc76-9961-4a5e-8174-12a9a4281d50.jpg",267,308,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/49\/2022\/04\/249efc76-9961-4a5e-8174-12a9a4281d50.jpg",267,308,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Queen Victoria\u2019s wedding dress set a new trend for white gowns","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10323"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10323"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10323\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10793,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10323\/revisions\/10793"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10319"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10323"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10323"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/homesantiques\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10323"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}